U.N. approves tribunal in Lebanon slaying

By Edith M. Lederer
Associated Press
Published: Thursday, May 31, 2007 12:17 a.m. MDT
E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council voted Wednesday to unilaterally establish an international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, but major powers Russia and China abstained. In Lebanon, Hariri supporters danced in the streets.

The vote on the resolution was 10-0 with five abstentions — Russia, China, South Africa, Indonesia and Qatar. Nine votes were needed for passage. The five countries that abstained objected to establishing the tribunal without approval of Lebanon's parliament and to a provision that would allow the resolution to be militarily enforced.

Holding back tears, Hariri's son Saad Hariri said the resolution was a turning point in Lebanon that would protect the country from further assassinations. He called it a "victory the world has given to oppressed Lebanon and a victory for an oppressed Lebanon in the world."

"Enough divisions ... Let's put our energies together for the sake of the nation," he urged.

A massive suicide truck bomb in Beirut killed Hariri and 22 others in February 2005. The first U.N. chief investigator, Germany's Detlev Mehlis, said the complexity of the assassination suggested Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services played a role. Four Lebanese generals, top pro-Syrian security chiefs, have been under arrest for 20 months, accused of involvement.

Story continues below
The issue of the tribunal has sharply polarized Lebanon. It is at the core of a deep political crisis between the Western-backed government and the Syrian-backed opposition led by Hezbollah. The tensions have taken on an increasingly sectarian tone and has erupted into street battles in recent months, killing 11 people.

Current Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora asked the Security Council earlier this month to establish the tribunal. He cited the refusal of opposition-aligned Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to convene a session to ratify statutes to create the tribunal, already approved by his government and the United Nations.

The resolution gives the Lebanese parliament a last chance to establish the tribunal itself.

If it doesn't act by June 10, the U.N.-Lebanon agreement will "enter into force," creating a tribunal outside Lebanon with a majority of international judges and an international prosecutor.

The tribunal will be established under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which deals with threats to international peace and can be militarily enforced.

The Russians, Chinese, South Africans, Indonesians and Qataris all objected to putting the resolution under Chapter 7, saying it was unnecessary because all Security Council resolutions are legally binding.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the resolution "essentially is an encroachment upon the sovereignty of Lebanon." He said Moscow supports bringing the perpetrators to justice. But "given the deep rift in Lebanese society ... that should not lead to negative consequences."

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

+ Click to enlarge
Lebanese government supporters cheer Wednesday after the U.N. Security Council voted to establish an international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. (Anwar Amro, Getty Images)
Anwar Amro, Getty Images
Lebanese government supporters cheer Wednesday after the U.N. Security Council voted to establish an international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.